Will us humans always require sleep?

[krunchykrome]

Even if humans didnt need sleep, I'd still take a long nap every day.

 

[everman]

Our brains seem to do things while we sleep that we do not yet understand well yet. It appears that it's not just about resting muscles.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Tom
sleeping is great, why would I want to not sleep ?

QFT

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: beer
They call it cocaine.

That sh!t catches up with you after a day or two though and you will crash hard.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: leftyman
I love taking a good crap before I nap.

Fixed.

 

[krunchykrome]

Instead of developing ways for humans not to be dependent on sleep, we should be developing ways to add a few extra hours into the day for more sleep.

 

[jtvang125]

So no more sleep right after sex? Oh hell no!

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Instead of developing ways for humans not to be dependent on sleep, we should be developing ways to add a few extra hours into the day for more sleep.

Agreed. I want a Siesta.

 

[Jeff7]

I view sleeping as being analagous to defragmentation.

I would love the time when we can finally be free of these organic containers, and move to something more efficient, not only as a more effective and robust means of storing our consciousness, but also allowing greater physical capability. Imagine a mind that could simultaneously process multiple thoughts, instead of switching between them. Now we tend to really focus on only one thing at a time, and multitasking is done in the way that a computer does it - it only does one thing at a time, but quickly switches between things so as to create the illusion of multitasking. Enhanced memory too, imagine true photographic memory, where you won't forget something after a day or two. Want to learn a book? Download the PDF into your mind and process and "index" it in a matter of hours, or perhaps minutes.

With such a technological leap, I'd expect there to either exist no need for downtime for defragmentation (sleep).

Will it be done while we still live in our bodies as they are? Perhaps. Something in us is hardwired for circadian rhythms which follow the rotation of the Earth. Try experimenting on bacteria, and ramp it up, maybe to fruit flies and then mice, and give them successively longer and longer days, over several generations, eventually switching perhaps to something like a lunar cycle, and only sleep once in 30 days. I figure that life is very hardwired to require some manner of a rest cycle.
See if they are indeed even able to adapt to the new longer days without ill effects.

I just have a feeling that if we'd evolved on Venus, where the days and years are very nearly the same length (Venus' rotational speed is VERY slow), we'd go a damn long time without sleeping. But then we might sleep for a damn long time too. "Good night, see you next year."

 

[hanoverphist]

i think it would cause mental breakdowns if our brains didnt have that "down time" while we were sleeping. some companies wont allow their employees to work more than 10 or 12 hours a day due to being "overtired" and losing too much productivity. sure, you become tired from it, but when you get off, you dont go directly to sleep. you finish off your day doing what you want, then sleep at night. the mental stress of being active for that period at work is what makes you tired, its telling you to stop thinking so much, in essence. of course, im just a lowly programmer, not a scientist that knows anything.

 

[3NF]

We were genetically engineered to sleep.

 

[fustercluck]

Yeah yeah, sleep is good. But what if you didn't need to sleep? You could feel fully refreshed at the push of a button (for example).

For me, sleeping sucks. I always either sleep not nearly enough or way too much, where I miss out on the day, and end up staying up all night. Like today for example. I slept about 17 hours, so I ended up waking up at around 7:00 pm, and there was no way I'd be able to sleep all night, so pulling an all-nighter (for about the 1000th time probably). I didn't feel all that refreshed after sleeping 17 hour either, I'm always surprised to wake up and find that i've slept 13+ hours, since it feels like I only got 8 or 9. Sucks to wake up and see the sun is already down because I went into a mini-coma =/

But, I agree sleep is great sometimes. Would you all really sleep even if you didn't feel the need to though?

In related news, I really need a new fvcking bed. Being broke sucks.

 

[3NF]

Sure, I suppose if my body didn't need it, then it would be nice. I could accomplish so much more in a single day

Broke? - Go to school and get a degree in molecular biology and/or bio-physics or some related science discipline and figure out why we really need to sleep. Then, change it so we don't have to, put it in a bottle and sell it on E-bay.

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I hate sleeping--I think it feels good and all that, but I always feel like I'm wasting time...

QFMFT

I just can't get to sleep most of the time. I'd rather be working, playing, twiddling my thumbs, etc.

 

[chr6]

ive thought about this too, reminds me of the james bond movie where the guy doesnt sleep, he just 'recharges' in his little dream machine. but i do enjoy my sleep. especially after a big helping of beef/pork ribs.

 

[GasX]

Science has developed a way to eliminate the need for sleep. It has some amazing effects on the people who take advantage of this development.

details here

 

[allies]

Maybe we could just slow the rotation of the earth so that there was 36 hours in a day.

Then we could sleep for 12 hours each day and be up for 24 hours!

 

[3NF]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Science has developed a way to eliminate the need for sleep. It has some amazing effects on the people who take advantage of this development.

details here

What a waste. And somebody's tax dollars are probably paying for them to be in prison or rehab somewhere.

 

[LeiZaK]

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Insomnia... I'll keep my sleep, thanks,

 

[dmw16]

there is a guy in Vietnam who hasn't slept in like 20 years. I saw it on CNN or Digg or something. He had some sort of head injury and then no more sleep. Doctors say he is perfectly healthy.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
i think it would cause mental breakdowns if our brains didnt have that "down time" while we were sleeping. some companies wont allow their employees to work more than 10 or 12 hours a day due to being "overtired" and losing too much productivity. sure, you become tired from it, but when you get off, you dont go directly to sleep. you finish off your day doing what you want, then sleep at night. the mental stress of being active for that period at work is what makes you tired, its telling you to stop thinking so much, in essence. of course, im just a lowly programmer, not a scientist that knows anything.

I've read of experiments with rats where they were kept awake - their memory began to deteriorate, they seemed to go insane, and eventually they simply died after about a week.

Billions of years of life being exposed to the regular solar cycle kind of ingrained that pattern into every living thing on this planet.

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Science has developed a way to eliminate the need for sleep. It has some amazing effects on the people who take advantage of this development.

details here

Show that to someone in the Mideast, and they'd think that Meth cleans you up.
They read right to left over there, don't they?
(Disclaimer: Not meant to be a deragatory remark against Mideasterners, just commentary on the fact that they read right to left.)

Originally posted by: dmw16
there is a guy in Vietnam who hasn't slept in like 20 years. I saw it on CNN or Digg or something. He had some sort of head injury and then no more sleep. Doctors say he is perfectly healthy.

Assuming that real medical science can confirm this, this would be someone quite interesting to study. I've heard reports of people in isolated areas claiming to be able to survive only on sunlight (no food), or maybe with no water, or various other outlandish claims that are only verified by village doctors who may have an interest in being affiliated with a "miracle of nature."

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I hate sleeping--I think it feels good and all that, but I always feel like I'm wasting time...

People like that drive me crazy.

Are you wasting time breathing/eating too? Sleep is a necessary part of it life, and heck, personally I think it feels great.

I saw an episode of something on TechTV (back when it didn't suck) produced by the BBC that was talking about the possibilities of a "24/7" pill. They just didn't think it was possible, as the human body needs that time to replenish.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
I view sleeping as being analagous to defragmentation.

I would love the time when we can finally be free of these organic containers, and move to something more efficient, not only as a more effective and robust means of storing our consciousness, but also allowing greater physical capability. Imagine a mind that could simultaneously process multiple thoughts, instead of switching between them.

Pfft...personally I think we just need a faster context-switching rate. Add some L1 and L2 cache, along with an efficient scheduler.

Now we tend to really focus on only one thing at a time, and multitasking is done in the way that a computer does it - it only does one thing at a time, but quickly switches between things so as to create the illusion of multitasking. Enhanced memory too, imagine true photographic memory, where you won't forget something after a day or two. Want to learn a book? Download the PDF into your mind and process and "index" it in a matter of hours, or perhaps minutes.

With such a technological leap, I'd expect there to either exist no need for downtime for defragmentation (sleep).

You'd still be physically exhausted though. And that's assuming all of that takes no mental energy. What is there was a trade-off after downloading that PDF like it just gave you a huge blood clot?

 

[marulee]

Adenosine triphosphate saving is required for your daytime activities.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Now we tend to really focus on only one thing at a time, and multitasking is done in the way that a computer does it - it only does one thing at a time, but quickly switches between things so as to create the illusion of multitasking. Enhanced memory too, imagine true photographic memory, where you won't forget something after a day or two. Want to learn a book? Download the PDF into your mind and process and "index" it in a matter of hours, or perhaps minutes.

With such a technological leap, I'd expect there to either exist no need for downtime for defragmentation (sleep).

You'd still be physically exhausted though. And that's assuming all of that takes no mental energy. What is there was a trade-off after downloading that PDF like it just gave you a huge blood clot?

Well all that paragraph still assumed an artificial body, meaning there'd be no blood to clot. It also assumes that there'd be the means available to power this advanced body, unless battery and power generation technology remains stagnant over the next few hundred years.
I wouldn't want it to be a Windows PC method of doing things, as in, "Sure you can get all these wonderful features jammed into a Pentium PC! It'll take 5 minutes to process a print job or load a web page, but it'll do it!" The artificial body wouldn't "just work" - it would work well. I grow tired of too many things we have which work "good enough." I want things that will last, things that work well.

Physical exhaustion, maybe this would set in, but only after really pushing the new body and/or mind to its absolute limits, which I would hope to be far beyond that of any human alive today.